Jennifer Lynn Lopez is a superstar singer, actress and performer. She was born on July 24, 1970. Her parents came to New York from Ponce, Puerto Rico. She is the middle of three sisters. Her father is a computer operations manager, and her mother, a kindergarten teacher. As a child, Jennifer always wanted to be a performer.

At the age of 7, young Jennifer went on her first tour - around New York City with her dance class. Jennifer graduated in 1987 from Preston High School, and she enrolled at Baruch College in New York City, but was dropped out after one semester. At the age of 16 Jennifer got a little break with a bit part in the film ''My Little Girl'' (starring Mary Stuart Masterson). But Jennifer's first love was still dance, and when she read about a scholarship to a dance school in Manhattan, she went down and grabbed the opportunity. At this time she was taking a full time course load at Baruch, working in a law office and taking her dance classes. Eventually this would lead to a falling out with her mother, who didn't want Jennifer to pursue dance as a career. When her mother gave her the ever popular ''you live by my rules as long as you live under my roof'' speech Jennifer took that as her cue to break out on her own. Not having anywhere else to live, she took up residence in the building where she took her dance classes.

A year and a half of auditioning with no success brought Jennifer to the verge of a breakdown. Jennifer then landed a role dancing as one of "The Fly Girls" on a production of "In Living Color". Subsequently, she gained ground in her next film, "The Money Train", with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. Jennifer's next role as Selena, launched her into the public eye, with her dancing and vocal talent. This led to Jennifer being picked as one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. A few more major roles followed with the modern film "Blood and Wine" and "U-Turn", which secured her star status.

After an extensive nationwide search, Jennifer was chosen to play Selena Quintanilla Perez, in the official biopic of the life of the fallen Tejano star. Taking part in the production of ''Selena'' would impact Jennifer's life in many ways. On the personal side, Jennifer's fiancéé, Ojani Noa, proposed to her at the wrap party for Selena. They were married in Miami on February 22, 1997, after knowing each other less than a year. Jennifer's sudden rise to fame with the release of ''Selena'' the following month would put an excessive strain on the marriage.

After news of the divorce made headlines, the gossip papers quickly had her romantically linked to the likes of rap impresario Sean ''Puffy'' Combs, Sony Music President Tommy Mottola and Salsa singer Marc Anthony. Although she has recently admitted that she is in fact having a relationship with Puffy.

Back on the professional level, after a bidding war among a number of record companies, Jennifer was signed to Sony Music's Work Group label. Her first CD, a pop album with a Latin flavor (although mostly in English) was released June 1, 1999.

Jennifer often receives more attention for two things, her behind, and her relationship with controversial Sean "Puffy" Combs. In 1999 she had her body insured for $1 billion, and had her rear protected with a $300 million policy. During a romance with the artist Puff Daddy, Jennifer put out her next album, "J-Lo", which also seems to be successful. Puff Daddy had input with some of the songs on the album, but he and Jennifer have now gone their separate ways.